Coolermaster HHC-L61 Copper Heatpipe Heatsink

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The HHC-L61 is Coolermaster's answer to the cry for a good performing heatsink that don't create a lot of noise. In fact the fan on this heatsink which is otherwise identical to the HHC-001 except for a denser fin count, rotates at just 3000RPM and moves about 14CFM of air. Coolermaster have called this heatsink the "Silent Heatpipe Cooler," but I think that is confusing terminology.... the heatsink is exceptionally quiet of course, measuring in at just 42.2 dB in our tests.

Overclockers can take a hike, this copper heatsink with its twin heatpipes is intended for quieter environments and systems running at normal speeds. If you can see the light at the end of the tunnel you have probably already realized I said "denser fin count" and are thinking the obvious - swap out fans and take advantage of the larger surface area to make the HHC-L61 an overclockers' heatsink. The older and louder HHC-001 has 26 copper fins, and the HHC-L61 has 32 so it is easy to imagine how this could benefit things.

Keep in mind that those two heatpipes stick out of the side by as much as 20mm, so if your motherboard has closely placed capacitors there may be conflicts.

	Heatsink Specsheet: Model: HHC-L61 HS Material: Copper, heatpipes, aluminum Fan: 3000RPM, 12V, 0.08A, 14CFM, Fan Dim: 25x60x60mm FHS Dimensions: 80x60x62mm Made by: Coolermaster Sold By: www.coolermaster.com.hk

The basic operation of a heatpipe:

The two copper tubes which jump out of the Coolermaster HHC-L61 and then swing around back in are hollow and encapsulate a vacuum. Around the inside of the copper tubes is sintered copper which acts like a wick for a small amount of working fluid (usually water) which is also contained in the tubes. When one end of the heatpipe gets hot, say from a nice little processor, that small amount of water vaporizes in the vacuum atmosphere inside the copper tubes. As the vapor makes its way to the other end of the copper tube it cools down and begins to condense. With no place to go but back, the condensed water vapour travels along the wick structure (coating the inside of the tube remember) back to the heat source where the entire process is repeated again, and again.

There are much more technical ways of describing heatpipes but that's the gist of it. In any case the HHC-L61 uses two of these magic tubes to achieve even heat distribution at the top of the copper fins where the main exhaust from the fan blows.

Now with such a large mass of copper on top of those fragile AMD processor cores (for instance) it can be pretty important to minimize the amount of movement the heatsink can have if the computer is shifted, or moved roughly. One of the smallest things which we have seen a lot of heatsink manufactures overlook is sliding.

When the heatsink is installed in an upright computer it can side a millimeter or two down unless the clip also locks the body of the cooler in place. As you can see in the photo above, Coolermaster have added an ingenious little cantilever at the center of the copper heatsink to lock that stainless steel clip in place, preventing the HHC-001 from any large movements once it has been installed on a processor. Honestly, it can really be the little things which stand out to indicate the level of detail a manufacture invests in their cooler.